A program at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin now helps fill that need. But as WISN 12 News anchor Portia Young discovered, some mothers are bypassing the medical community completely.

Children's Hospital has become the second facility in the state that feeds some of their smallest babies with donated breast milk.

The milk is screened, pasteurized and provided to babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit who desperately need the nutrients and antibodies contained in human breast milk.

WISN 12 News anchor Portia Young spoke to the mother who helped inspire the program -- inspiration borne out of heartache.

Jennifer McGraw had two sons born with rare genetic illnesses. Her son Dylan survived for a few months; her son Noah only for a few hours.

To help make peace with her loss, McGraw donated her breast milk to a facility in Indiana, which was the closest human breast milk bank at the time.

"I donated over 2,300 ounces," she said.

Inspired by her gift, Children's Hospital established their own breast milk bank as the healing antibodies needed by NICU infants can not be recreated in formula.

"We are the second NICU in the whole state of Wisconsin to go live using Pasteurized donor milk," said Lisa Brock of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. "We're the only one in this region at this time using it."

But while a freezer filled with breast milk represents southern Wisconsin's formal milk bank, WISN 12 News discovered that there is also a strong informal network being formed without the involvement of a health care professional.

"It was more important for me to have breast milk, even if it was from other women," said Rugh McGeehan, who turned to a Facebook page in order to find a breast milk donor for her son.

The page is a fan page for the website http://eatsonfeets.org/, a site that helps connect mothers across the country who wish to share or receive human breast milk. The site states milk must be shared without exchanging money.

Supporters of the informal network said the direct approach has fewer barriers and leads to mothers receiving milk in a shorter period of time. Some health care professionals believe that raw and unscreened milk may not be worth the risk.

"Whoever is giving you this milk is also feeding their own child," McGeehan said. "I would imagine they're taking care of themselves to make sure their own child is healthy."

"It's not something that we, in fact, would say is a good thing to do," Brock said.

According to Brock, the breast milk at Children's Hospital is tested for drugs and diseases -- testing that may not be present in an informal network.

Amy Horst is a direct donor through an informal network, and while she said testing would not bother her it is more important to be trusted by the family.

"It's such a privilege to help feed such a sweet boy and to help out this lovely family," she said.

And while McGraw feels the same about her donation, her route prevented her from meeting the babies she's helped.

Three mothers on very different journeys, all who believe breast milk is unmatched for a baby's development.

McGraw's friends and neighbors in Whitefish Bay call her a hero for giving in her time of need. Parents of NICU babies at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin are grateful for her inspiration. But for McGraw, what she really wants is to provide for her own someday.

"Friends and family have told me that I'm so strong," she said. "I don't feel strong. I don't feel inspirational. I just want to be a mom."